erieforage

My wife made up some violet and dandelion salve, and was nice enough to write up a description for me.

This is a basic salve, using oil infused with both violet and dandelions. Violets are said to be healing and soothing, good for cracked and chapped skin, and dandelions are reputed to have mild analgesic qualities, helping with soreness and pain. It should make a good salve for sore, chapped, cracked skin, and achy muscles. I have never actually made this salve before—this recipe was cobbled together from several web sites and a basic knowledge of salves.
After collecting and drying violets and dandelions, fill a half pint jar full of the dried flowers and pour olive oil over them. Poke around a bit with a chopstick or knife to release air bubbles, and top off with oil. Cover and store in a dark place for at least 5 weeks. When you are ready to make the salve, strain the herbs from the oil and discard. Gently warm the infused oil (in a double boiler ideally) and add in the grated beeswax. I used about 2 tablespoons of beeswax to approximately ½ cup infused oil, and the salve is fairly soft. If you want a firmer balm-like mix, add more beeswax. Stir the wax into the warm oil until it melts completely. Add 1 tsp of vitamin E oil to act as a preservative, and pour into tins to cool. If you would like to add essential oils, put them in when you add the vitamin E.